Eclipse of the Knights
This is a story regarding the Great Knight's expedition to the distant nation of Rovaltinny (in an ancient Inamortan tongue which the Great Knights often use) or "Wings", as it is referred to in the native tongue. Chapter One - Crawling In The Night Chaos. Destruction. The grass stained red with blood. The statue shattered. He stood there, wielding a bloodied axe and shield, grinning at the devastation he had caused. Bodies lay everywhere, prompting two words in his mind: more food. Vince woke from his nightmare, sweat dripping from his forehead. He stared around the tent. All four of his fellow Great Knights lay asleep in their hastily assembled bunks, all unusually silent. Creak. Vince fixed his gaze upon the shadows of the trees swaying in the moonlight on the thin, flaxen tent exterior. Two figures emerged, their footsteps as quiet as those of a hunter stalking its prey, and headed towards the entrance. He felt the temptation to leap out of his bunk to grab his sword and axe, but felt utterly paralysed. His heart began to pound as the figures engorged in size until they reached the tent’s entrance. “Ah, can’t see in the dark. Is this the right tent?”. The face of a grizzled knight poked through and peered into the interior. After his subordinate confirmed his comment, the rather short knight stepped in, clutching a crested helmet under his left arm, and barked an order at the sleeping soldiers, “Wake up men! Your night watch begins in fifteen minutes.” Vince’s comrades stirred and groaned, before the knight took a lamp from his officer and marched around the tent, glaring at each of the men. Vince managed to lift himself out and began to stumble outside with his sandals to urinate in a jar. As he dido, he glanced at the radiant full moon, its brightness illuminating the ordered rows of tents. Beyond the stakes surrounding the camp lay a dense expanse of forest, crawling with bizarre creatures apparently native to the North. Hopefully the Wingidons actually have barracks for us thought Vince. The entire thousand-strong detachment was part of a Great Knight expedition to aid their distant allies, the winged denizens of the Eclipse Mountains and the nation of Rovaltinny or "Wings" in the North-West who named themselves the Wingidons. They were particularly strange due to the fact that they had wings - feathery wings akin to those of a bird - which enabled them to fly. Years ago, Great Knight explorers had promised to aid the Wingidons in the case of invasion. Vince smiled to himself as he envisioned the peculiarity of the Wingidons who were delighted by this promise, despite the distance between the two realms being hundreds of kilometres. "They probably won't need us" he muttered to himself. Once Vince was fully prepared for his night watch, he joined his companions. “Good morning Delphius”. Delphius’ lanky form emerged from the dimly-lit tent, grasping a battered axe in one hand and an equally battered shield in his other. “I hate night watch” he grumbled. His eyes were still streaked red and his voice grainy. “I bet you that Pepin the Short just wanted to punish us for fun. ” Delphius remarked as looked back at the diminutive Knight in his polished armour. Vince replied “If we were being punished, we would end up like Grifo. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised Grifo hasn't been executed. Some Great Knight commanders would have just dashed his brains out personally after he disobeyed orders or spoke back to them. I know that at least our old general would have..." The two fell silent as they passed the blood-soaked body of Grifo, who was leaning against the wheel he had been tied up to, unconscious. "Is this really needed?" Vince questioned himself. After navigating their way through the near-identical passageways between the tents, Vince and Delphius arrived at the stakes surrounding the statue and several crops of gold. "Greetings friends" someone whispered at them. It was Samson, holding his remarkably reflective axe in one hand and a lamp in the other. "Hi Samson" They both responded in near unison. While both Delphius and Samson had been eager to test their prowess in war, only Samson saw night watch as fun. After all, wouldn't it be more challenging to fight the native creatures on their home territory in the dark. Regardless, Samson had always been prepared for battle and had memorised enough military manuals, both regular and ancient, to display and explain every single tactic three Great Knights could use against a variety of opponents, including the nefarious creatures they were on guard for. "Now Samson, don't get too hopeful that we get attacked by a swarm of these...things. I think everyone else is practically..." A horrific screech filled the night air, breaking the relative tranquillity of the camp. All three soldiers looked at each other: one smiling, one frustrated; and one concerned. They unsheathed their weapons. Vince felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins, focusing his eyes on the border between the dark forest and the camp. Glimpses of red began to appear in the forest. Vince gripped his weapons tighter. A single cat-like reptile stepped out of the darkness. It was diminutive in size. Its glowing red eyes widened and protruded out of its face, cackling menacingly. All of a sudden, a pack of Crawlers pounded out of the twisted woods. The scaled monstrosities leapt over the firm mud and patches of grass. Samson beamed. "Practice time!" he yelled, while Vince cried out "Incoming Crawlers!". The other Knights raised their shields. The rush of footsteps could be heard from behind as several other guards rushed to reinforce them. Samson's glinting axe sped forwards and cleaved the lead Crawlers head off, which rolled off onto the ground. His next blow landed directly on another Crawler's skull, making a satisfying crunch as it hit. In the meantime, Vince and Delphius used their shields the shove back the incoming Crawlers who threw their entire body mass against them. Vince stabbed his sword forwards and caught a writhing Crawler in the side of its neck, allowing a stream of blood to pour out and its body to collapse. Delphius made a similar movement with his axe, shearing off a creature's leg before finishing it. Without warning, he and Samson then charged forwards, knocking over several Crawlers with their momentum and executing them as they were incapacitated. Two Knights their right made a similar manoeuver, stunning three Crawlers and using the slight point on the bottom of their shields to bludgeon and dislocate their necks. The furious war cries of the few were matched only by the screeches of their enemies. Pools of blood were splattered everywhere at the edge of the stakes as the cold steel and might of the Great Knights unleashed upon the Crawlers. The combined night guards continued to crush the Crawlers, pushing forward as certain soldiers charged forward to prevent them from regrouping. Even though the Crawlers outnumbered the Knights by two to one, they stood no chance. A few remained limp on the ground, trodden on by the advancing metal-clad warriors. Within a minute, the once thirty-strong pack of Crawlers was a mere three individuals that had the intelligence, and the nonchalance, to scamper back into the forest, dragging a few of the smallest casualties along with them, presumably for consumption. "Cowards!" Samson cried jokingly at the fleeing Crawlers. He stared down at the numerous disfigured lumps of flesh and kicked one head away, before pulling out a clean clothes to wipe the blade of his axe with. Delphius spat on one of the corpses and made a rude gesture at it, proceeding to stamp its brains out. Vince’s heavy breathing ceased and he looked to the other Knights, several of whom had rushed out to defend the statue. Some were clutching their axes and swords, while a few longbowmen and crossbowmen advanced out of their positions to collect the few arrows and bolts they had fired. Vince felt a slight sense of relief: that had been easy enough. But as he reflected on the encounter, a sudden dark chill crept up his spine. Nothing he reassured himself silently while scanning the forest. Only a single pair of glowing red eyes were visible from afar, staring unblinkingly for several seconds and them disappearing into the night. Just a Crawler he thought to himself again. Chapter Two - Pack Mentality Vince yawned loudly as the sun rose from the horizon. His companions were all similarly tired and irritated, muttering sarcastic jokes about feeling dead inside. A few had taken to disassembling the dead Crawlers and throwing their mutilated remains at each other to save themselves from going insane with boredom. All were broadly arrayed around the statue, with only a few focusing on the forest they were all supposed to watch for. Samson continued to switch between reading a history book of Cranium (Northern Inamorta), taking small sips of dilute ale from his water skin and polishing his shield, which he had laid out next to the statue. "Apparently, we're only a day's march away from Rovaltinny" he stated rather plainly. He knew that many of the Great Knights on this expedition were doubtful of their purpose: sending almost 2,700 Knights and 400 Auxiliary Soldiers deep into the North seemed impractical to face an entire invasion force by an unknown enemy. Regardless, no one truly despised the Wingidons, only their lack of a sophisticated language, in fact the Knight's considered "Wingidon" as an insult if said directly to them, and referred to them solely as Rovalians, especially since the Wingidons' cousins in the Eagle Mountains, known as the Theryn, were somewhat superior in their technology and closer to the Great Knights. "Good morning again lads!" Pepin, their short-statured commander, arrived with a small grin. "Finally, the expedition is moving out again to link up with a Rovalian detachment at the borders of their kingdom." His announcement was met with a few quiet cheers and multiple grunts. "However, we haven't been able to contact them because..." Pepin faltered as he surveyed the soldiers' faces. Almost all of them seemed to have been drained of life. After a pause of several seconds, Pepin spoke up again, only at a quieter volume "...At least 3 scouting parties were attacked, apparently by a large pack of Crawlers." Murmurs erupted throughout the Knights. How could 3 scouting parties, each consisting of 9 Great Knights and 5 Archers be overwhelmed by Crawlers? But the more perceptive realised that there must have been over 300 Crawlers to overwhelm that many soldiers, and with no information of the path ahead, there could be many more. "Therefore, we're sending out a larger task force to sweep the path and enable communication with the Rovalians. A second group will remain in the surrounding forest and guard our retreat, but we wont be able to deconstruct the camp if we don't make contact with the Rovalians. Any questions?" As Pepin answered the many questions that the Knights had, Vince turned to his comrades, grinning at them. "Here's your chance to kill some more Crawlers. I definitely hope that Pepin takes our squadron." He mocked them sarcastically. He could see their eyes completely bloodshot and their ears barely comprehending his loud voice. Delphius rolled his eyes in response while Samson groaned. Neither of them were in any mood to slaughter more beasts, in spite of their usual attitude towards doing so. "Maybe we should have got some sleep. This operation sounds more promising than night watch." Delphius complained. After a short pause, he whispered "If Pepin selects us, I'm going to be incredibly peeved, and may possibly split his skull - although I that seems to be what always happens to anyone who annoys me mildly in the end." Both Vince and Samson nodded casually. Neither approved of Delphius' somewhat murderous tendencies, but they knew that Delphius would do no such thing - murder was reserved for those who Delphius truly hated. "So then, who's ready for some more killing!" A voice boomed from behind. Hastini Rongsabin emerged, clutching a large and ornate axe in her hands and a taunting smile on her face. "Or are you all too tired from standing around at night?" The mocking tone in her voice enraged Vince, but it was not for himself that he was concerned: it was Delphius. His obsession with brutality was something that Hastini shared and even approved of, but Vince could tell that she was even more sadistic - where Delphius would split someone's skull in half, Hastini would ram blunt points into her victims' knee caps to dislocate them, snap off several joints and then disembowel them - and loathed her for it. "Tired? We're not tired at all!" Delphius exclaimed, just as Samson yawned rather prominently. "Oh really?" She replied snidely "Prove it." All of a sudden, Hastini's axe was arcing over her head towards Delphius. Delphius leaped out of the way just as the axe glinted the side of his helmet, leaving a visible gash in the side. "A bit slow don't you think." "Delphius, are you ok okay!" Vince rushed to his side, inspecting the dent. He glared up at Hastini, who was still grinning. "Why would you do that? You almost killed him!" He could feel his blood boil in his veins as he stood up to meet her at eye level. "It's fine. He's alive." Hastini replied calmly. She then turned to Delphius' crouching form. "Well, you managed to survive, so I think you can stay alive when facing a mass of Crawlers." Samson finally spoke. "That was completely unnecessary." he reprimanded her sternly. Hastini continued to sneer and turned away with complete confidence, ignoring Vince's insults and Samson's criticisms. "No conscience or honour at all. I hope she dies and burns in hell." Vince whispered to Samson. "Let's hope so, although from what I can tell, hell seems to be the ideal home for her." They looked back to Delphius, who had just stood back up again, slightly dazed. As he stumbled about, he almost knocked into Pepin, who was roughly a third shorter than Delphius. "Vince, I need your squadron to move out and join the centre vanguard. There has to be at least 200 experienced fighters to crush all the Crawlers ahead." Before anyone could respond, Pepin smiled approvingly and left in a hurry. Clearly frustrated, Delphius started swearing repeatedly, while Vince patted him on the back half-sympathetically. "Well then, brief the others and get them on the road in 45 minutes. Get them to have breakfast quickly." Vince spoke. Samson nodded and glanced at the readjusted sundial behind him, turning to leave as he did so. *** After eating hurriedly, Vince's squadron assembled at the edge of the camp, along with several other veteran warriors grouped in their respective divisions. Vince ambled to the front of his soldiers, appearing slightly reinvigorated after drinking several cups of boiled tea. As he addressed them, he could not help but notice that almost all of them were eager to fight (with a few exceptions, notably Samson and Delphius, who were simply tired), murderous smiles etched onto their faces. The best of the best ''Vince imagined to himself with pride, he was after all commanding young, yet experienced, knights who he had fought together with in campaigns from the frigid Ice Hills to the dense forests of the Havik Kingdom, and achieved amazing success. His silent reflection was rudely interrupted by Hastini, who swaggered arrogantly past with her axe trailing behind her, knocking Vince forward with a shoulder barge. He turned around scowling as the amused Hastini continued to advance, completely ignoring him. ''Why on earth does Delphius still consider her a friend? "Well, having a sadist in your ranks does strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, making them more cautious and, when their line begins to break, panicky and extraordinarily fun to pursue with cavalry." Vince looked to his other side at the tall, metal-clad, beaming young woman standing in front of her own squadron. "Parean, was I... was I just thinking out loud?" He questioned, slightly puzzled at her comment. "No, but it was rather obvious from your expression that it was something to do with Hastini's presence." Parean responded without hesitation. Vince still appeared confused, his eyes having wandered towards the sky as he pondered on his previous expression. "If it's any comfort, in a scenario where we are all besieged and run out of supplies, Hastini will definitely be our first victim of cannibalisation." She added rather enthusiastically, raising an amused smile from Vince. "How would we kill her though? There has to be some element of disembowelment for ironic purposes." "Of course there does, but wouldn't it be more fun to also destroy her joints with brute force and tear off her nails." They both grimaced in agreement. Vince knew that Parean was not a sadist in any way, but occasionally they would both indulge in their own fantasy of torturing Hastini to death. "Vince, Parean, get up here quickly!" another Great Knight captain bellowed from the command tent. The two hurried in that direction to gather around a table with several of the most senior Great Knights planning their attack strategy. Pepin stood in the middle of the huddle, holding a few banner figures to signify the various squadrons, with 40 soldiers each. 5 were congregated at the centre of the road, while a further 3 were positioned on each side of the road. He pushed the flanking groups up first. "We need to clear the forest of potential ambushers before our main group advances on the road. We are expecting resistance, so each group has their own signallers: one horn for spotting the enemy, two for engaging them, three if reinforcements may be required if more are attackers are suspected, and finally, four if your group is being overrun." Most of the captains nodded at this, while Vince and Parean took some more time figuring out the locations. "Do we have any exact information on the numbers or locations of these machines?" Vince inquired "There could be thousands of them lurking amongst these forests just waiting to annihilate our divided groups piecemeal. Somehow, these Crawlers are acting...intelligent. Within the past few days, most of the Crawlers we've faced were bigger, faster and attacked small groups of guards with overwhelming numbers, picking us off slowly. We can't just send in.." "And what would you suggest we do then?" the irritated voice of a woman cut off Vince's complaint. "Send in more scout groups? Even you said that these Crawlers were superior and could pick off small groups of soldiers, and you want to send in more scouts to be butchered without any benefit." she derided him. "I thought you were the sort of captain who threw his troops into a massive assault to ensure they fought together, not separated." Vince opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and hung his head in shame. "Fair enough Lieutenant General Tangeldis, you're right." He silently berated himself for his stupidity, while Tangeldis continued staring at him with what could be interpreted as contempt. Vince attempted to avoid her piercing eyes and casually glanced around the table. All the other captains were showing some sign of discomfort. Pepin continued "Anyway, each group should be able to assign three backup horn signallers and equip them accordingly. The first groups will march out in 15 minutes and the centre group within 20 minutes. Any questions?" *** "Stay close to Nircurus' squadron!" Vince bellowed at his troops. The road was little more than a mud track, battered by the wet and frigid weather of the North West. Even though they were marching in broad daylight, the towering trees along the side of the path cast looming shadows on the advancing Great Knight column. Chapter Three - Flying Statues Coming soon Category:Story __FORCETOC__